New Beginnings
The hallways are halfway lit when Carol walks in, and she quickly makes her way to the front office. The doors are locked when she tries to open them, and she sighs, resigned to hang around until the 6:00 bell rings, when-
“I got you, don’t worry about it.” A dark-haired woman in a fitted black top and blue jeans shoves a key in the door, and smiles at Carol. Carol gawks for a second before regaining her composure.
The woman quirks an eyebrow, looking Carol up and down. “You’re new here, aren’t you?” Carol nods, and dislodges the knot in her throat.
“I- yes, I’m Carol Danvers, I’m teaching astronomy here.” She steps inside the opened door, offered by the brunette.
“Maria Rambeau, I teach Women and Gender Studies. I can show you around, if you need it. There aren’t many other early birds here yet, so it’s easy to get lost.” Maria’s dark brown eyes squint a bit at Carol, inquisitive, like she already knows Carol’s answer.
“Really? That’d be awesome! I came this morning to try to get a feel of the place, but obviously I don’t have the necessary equipment.” Carol motions to the brunette’s keys, swinging her arm a bit awkwardly. Maria grins slightly.
“Come on, Danvers. I’ll show you to your classroom.” She turns to walk down the hall, and Carol follows like a lost puppy. She has a feeling that this will be a common occurrence.
- -
Carol’s classroom is an alright size, not too small, with light green paint and a large window occupying the far left wall. She glances around the space, mentally deciding where to hang each poster or graphic.
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the astronomy teacher already has her head in the clouds.” Maria quips, lips tugging up on one side, an almost imperceptible dimple appearing on her cheek. Carol giggles, widening her eyes at the foreign sound.
“You’d better get used to it.” Carol jokes, pushing her hair behind her right ear. Maria smiles, and splays her fingers across the black countertop at the front of the class.
“I guess I will.”
- -
It’s the day before the students arrive at Benjamin Franklin High School, and to say the least, Carol is a bit frazzled. She’s straining to tape a poster of the M17 Omega Nebula to the wall, tip toeing on the highest rung of the ladder, trying her best not to fall, when she hears steady footsteps on the linoleum floor.
“Carol, what in god’s name are you doing up there?” Maria’s strong voice causes Carol, to turn her head quickly, throwing her balance the slightest bit to the left. The ladder wobbles, and Maria rushes to hold the lightweight metal frame.
“I’m trying to tape this stupid thing up, but I can’t reach the stupid edge.” Maria grins at Carol’s version of crude language, and offers her hand to help the blonde down.
“Here, let me try.” Maria rolls her eyes at Carol’s hesitation, and shakes her hand a couple times.
“Come on, we don’t have all day, and you’re clearly too short to reach where you want. Hustle up!” Carol scrambles down the ladder, huffing and steadying the ladder for Maria to climb on. She looks up and, woah, bad decision, because she can't bring herself to look away now. Carol snaps her eyes to the floor when Maria glances down, eyebrows cinching upwards.
“Don’t enjoy yourself too much, Danvers.” Her tone is low, bordering on suggestive, and Carol’s mind blanks. Was that- was Maria flirting? No, Carol reminds herself, this is Louisiana, this is where she has to lie low, to get by. She shakes her head, staring down at the ground and trying to cool her cheeks. She only looks back up when Maria’s triumphant voice rings out above her.
“Got it!” She slides gracefully off her perch on the top rung, scaling down the ladder smoothly. She grins at Carol, and Carol swears the sun shines brighter through her window.
“You did. Good job, Maria.” She leans against the cool desktop, and Maria tilts her head, looking quizzically at the blonde.
“You ready for the students tomorrow?” Maria questions after a beat. Carol’s shoulders relax at the unobtrusive inquiry, and she shrugs.
“As ready as I’ll ever be, Ms. Rambeau.” Carol dips her voice in the last syllable, raising her eyebrows at the dark-haired woman.
“Good to know, Ms. Danvers.” And when Maria returns the deep tone, the smallest shiver runs up Carol’s spine.
- -
The first day isn’t as awful as Carol imagined it would be. Turns out, people that signed up for astronomy had to have a prerequisite science course, so there weren’t any freeloading easy-A students in Carol’s group. She even has a bit of fun, passing out classroom expectations flyers and answering easy questions. The day only improves when Maria pops her head in for a brief period to ask for an extra pad of sticky notes, pink, the kind Maria likes, and to joke around with the students as Carol rummages around in her desk looking for the bright notes. And if Maria steals a quick glance at the blonde’s backside while she’s bent over in front of her desk, Carol doesn’t notice. And if the kids in the front row suddenly burst into whispers and giggles, Maria couldn’t be bothered to worry about it.
When Carol finally straightens back up, a pad of highlighter magenta sticky notes held triumphantly in hand, Maria’s leaned against the corner of her desk, fiddling with a blue pen she found on Carol’s planner.
“Got ‘em?” Maria asks, extending her palm in demand for the notes.
“Yep, you’re welcome.” The class’ eyes dart between the two women like a ping-pong match.
“Thank you Carol!” Maria calls, sauntering out of the classroom. The class collectively switches their attention to Carol, each expression different. Carol bends her neck in confusion, but trades gears to the class topic.
“So, does anyone have any questions?”
- -
At the end of the day, as Carol’s packing up her blue backpack, a knock on her door sounds through the empty classroom. Carol turns swiftly, and waves at Maria’s solid form against the frame. Maria smiles lazily, pushing herself up from the edge and strolling towards the blonde.
“So, how was the first day? Hopefully not as terrible as mine.” Maria groans the last word, and Carol watches as she slumps into the rolling chair behind her desk.
“Actually, my day went well. Good students, pretty smart. What happened with you?” Maria spins once in Carol’s chair, and stares at the ceiling when she answers.
“I can just tell, that some of these kids- the boys, mostly,” she snaps her head to look exasperatedly at Carol, “signed up for my class expecting an easy A. And I know that their lack of enthusiasm is gonna bring the good ones down too. It’s just frustrating, when not even my own students take my class seriously.” Carol sets her bag down and moves to sit on the desk in front of Maria.
“I took Women and Gender Studies in college,” Carol starts, eyes glazing as she tells the memory. “I loved the class, but it was hard work. I don’t think people realize that it’s more than just feminist prose, which, don’t get me wrong- I love, but involves literature, and it’s analytical, it’s political, historical. It- it’s a study! I mean, I should know, I got a B.” She gestures widely, and Maria nods her head animatedly at the words.
“Exactly! No one gets it! I mean, I went to college for this subject, this study, and people still think it’s a joke!” Maria leans forward in her seat, and the sky dims to a pink outside Carol’s window.
“It’s not a joke, no matter how many sexist, 2.5 GPA guys named Chad tell you that it is- it’s not.” Maria laughs- hard- at the last words, and Carol can’t control the wave of pride in her chest at the sound.
- -
“What’s your opinion on cats?” Carol asks, one day during their planning period over a plate of sweet potato fries.
“What?” Maria laughs a bit around her fry, surprised by the random question.
“Cats. Do you like them, are they okay, mean, nice, I don’t know. Just your general opinion.” Carol scrunches her eyebrows down at her planner, scribbling some nonsensical cursive in the margin. She tilts her head back up to grab a fry out of the paper dish, glancing at Maria.
“Well, I’ve never kept one, but my mom did before I moved out, named Sprinkles. Nice enough, but she was a little too needy for my taste. Why are on about this now?” Maria smiles, and tries to catch Carol’s light brown eyes.
“Well, my old friend from Colorado is getting deployed, and-”
“Wait, hold on, deployed? Carol, were you in the military?” Maria raises her eyebrows.
“Air Force, actually. Never got any real action, and I figured, why not do something with the free education?” Carol shrugs, dipping her fry in ketchup. Maria sits back in her seat, impressed.
“Well, I’m sure you still contributed to the force, in your own way.” Maria scratches her forehead, smiling a bit, and Carol stares at her for a second, maybe a second too long.
“Anyway,” the blonde starts, shaking her head. “About this cat thing. Should I take it or leave it?” Maria angles her neck sideways, and taps her chin.
“I think it would be fun. Cats are cute, and an easy pet to have.” Maria dusts her hands off on her blue polka dot blouse, and stands up as the bell rings.
“Then it’s a done deal. I’ll go call my friend now, she’ll be so glad to know I’m taking the gremlin off her hands.” Carol cracks her knuckles, and pushes in her chair, and Maria doesn’t know why her stomach twists at Carol mentioning another woman so casually.
- -
Maria and Carol adore the cat.
A little orange thing, Goose, traipsing around Carol’s one bedroom apartment like she owns the place. Carol had invited Maria over to meet the small creature, and although Maria questioned the validity of being introduced to a cat, she savored the idea of being with Carol in such an informal, yet so intimate setting.
Maria arrives over 10 minutes late, and Carol seems a little out of breath when she opens the door, dimples forming on her cheeks when she takes in Maria’s casual wear, a green jumpsuit and Nike sneakers. Maria gives Carol a lingering once-over, eyes burning over her usual dress-pants covered legs, in a pair of tight blue jeans, and her voice catches when she spots a strip of bare skin underneath the white t-shirt. Carol finally clears her throat, opening the door wider to let Maria inside.
“Come in, come in, sorry.” Carol rushes out, grinning embarrassedly at the wooden floor.
Maria steps in and is immediately hit with Carol’s smell surrounding her, laundry detergent and the rose-hip patchouli body wash Carol praises almost daily. She gazes around the sitting room, and it’s nothing like what Maria thought it would look like. There’s a boxy TV sitting in front of the couch, her furniture matching in the way that Maria’s doesn’t. Carol’s decorations are minimalistic, almost lacking in places like the living room and kitchen, and it’s so unlike Carol, who’s made every inch of her classroom her own, with posters and knick-knacks and plants, even a replica of the solar system hanging from her high ceilings.
“I know what you’re thinking, and the reason it’s so empty is because i just haven’t gotten the chance to settle in, with, you know, school.” Carol stumbles through her excuse, and thank god for Goose, because she’s about to say something more awkward when an orange cat wraps itself around Maria’s leg and begins to purr.
Maria grins and leans down to pick up the furry creature, and Carol smiles when Goose rubs her head against Maria’s cheek.
“She likes you.” Carol leans her elbow on the kitchen counter, her t-shirt riding up.
“Yeah, well. I can’t blame her.” Maria giggles, and Carol feels her full-body blush coming on, so she twists her hands together, and-
“Can I get you anything to drink?” She opens her refrigerator, and Maria is surprised to see it almost bare, except for a loaf of bread, some assorted vegetables, and a small variety of drinks ranging from lemonade to wine and beer.
“Ugh, a beer would be great, I was wanting one all day.” Maria sighs, placing Goose gently on the tiled floor.
“That bad huh? What stupid shit did the boys say today?” Carol bends at the waist to retrieve the drinks, and Maria’s eyes wander a little before she speaks.
“Not even the boys this time, it was this girl, Sarah Walters, you got her in any classes?”
Carol shakes her head. “Unfortunately not.”
“Well, anyway, she decided to share with the class- first time this year by the way- her lovely opinions on family structure, since the lesson was on the Stonewall Riots,” Oh, Carol sees where this is going. “And, girl, I’m telling you. I almost went off, I swear. The only thing stopping me was my lack of tenure.” Carol laughs, but sobers when she sees Maria looking at the floor.
“Hey, I know that kids can dicks sometimes, or all of the time, especially when talking about issues they don’t understand,” Carol brushes her knuckles across Maria’s forearm, and the brunette’s eyes lift under her eyelashes. “And I know it sucks that we can’t give our own opinions. I can’t imagine how hard your job is, but I know it’s an important one.” Maria blinks, moved by Carol’s words, and before she can stop herself, she wraps her arms around Carol’s waist.
Carol’s arms hover in the air, surprised by the sudden contact, but she sinks into it quickly, settling her hands on Maria’s shoulder blades. She sighs at the brunette’s familiar scent, jasmine and coconut oil.
“And besides, they’re just kids. They’re stupid, they don’t know what they’re talking about.” Maria laughs, pulling away from Carol to grin widely at her. Carol fights a giddy smile, and Goose meows from the next room over.
- - -
Maria walks in her third hour class the following Monday to see a few kids in their desks already. She writes a few things on the chalkboard as the rest of her students meander in, and turns around when she hears hushed whispers swarming the class. They stop as soon as she looks at them, and she tilts her head, confused, but keeps writing until she’s done with her sentence.
It’s not until the bell rings, and the kids are streaming out of her open doors, when her favorite student, Eliza, approaches her desk hesitantly.
“What’s up, Eliza? Everything okay?” Maria tilts her head again, and Eliza cringes.
“Yes, but- the reason everyone was whispering was because of, well,” the sophomore girl taps a spot on her own neck, and Maria doesn’t understand until she presses the same spot on hers and-
“Oh my- alright, thank you Eliza, for letting me know. I’m just going to run to the bathroom for a second.” Maria grabs her makeup bag from the small drawer in her desk and books it to the teacher’s single restrooms.
“Shit, shit, shit.” Maria mutters as she expertly conceals the bruise, and wonders how she missed it this morning.
(She knows why she missed it, she was too busy creeping out of a dark apartment to check her appearance in the mirror.)
Maria’s stomach is sinking, remembering the night before, and she presses her fingers to her mouth. She’s embarrassed, ashamed, and she feels guilty, for a reason she can’t explain. She thinks of light brown eyes, crinkling at the edges, and blonde hair, falling loosely over tanned shoulders, and she blinks away the tears forming.